SpellBound
by The Pen Samurai
Summary: If you think about it, the life of a Celestial Spirit would be hard. Bound to one person for as long as they live, and expected to follow their orders to your best potential. Many would become great friends with their owners, but, say you were bound to an abusive owner, then what? You are spell-bound, with no way to resist or run without breaking the rules, how shall you act?
1. Dealing With Fate

_This is an Alternate Universe story; it is set in the past. I have slightly altered certain aspects on purpose, and added other concepts. The first few chapters are quite short, and then get longer as the story progresses. _

A pair of eyes, the colour of a flame's centre, amber and golden shades tied together; stare back at me through a crystalline reflection. A head of golden hair accompanies it; the locks are thick, long and curl into ringlets, like the mane of a lion. That of the star sign I represent.

A Leo Celestial Spirit.

I swiftly swipe at the water, causing my reflection to swirl into waves. The eyes of fire leave the water surface, and my Owner is within my gaze.

An older lady, with shortly cut brown hair. She looks warmly at me with those lime green eyes of hers and simply smiles, "We should get going really" She suggests, with an air of longing. I glance around with her, at the surrounding forest, alive with life even as the afternoon draws to a close. We sit at the edge of the lake, water sparkles under the orange light of sunset as far as the eye can see.

"Yes, Mistress" I reply simply, and rise swiftly to my feet as her orders suggest.

Mistress simply shakes her head, "We have known each other for over a decade, yet you still insist on addressing me as Mistress" she says, almost as if she is disappointed.

I dismiss this and extend a hand to her, as she takes it I help her up.

"You are my superior, so I shall address you as your title; Mistress" I answer.

She chuckles lightly, "I don't like it when you say things like that, we're friends"

"As far as you know" I tease.

She gives me a light shove, "Don't mess with me"

I laugh heartily and have a strong urge to shove her in the water, but maybe that was going too far.

Suddenly, I notice something different in her hair. I look carefully and my hand reaches to her head, and plucks a single hair, she flinches.

"Mm... A grey hair" I comment with an impish smile.

Her expression is something of slight shock first, which causes my smile to grow only larger, and then she frowns. "That's not funny, Lencya" She says firmly, like a scolding parent.

"Well I find it funny" I retort good-naturedly.

Mistress scoffs and passes me, and trots up towards the forests. I shrug, was it something I said?

I am right on her heel before long and we are climbing back through the forest, the tangled branches reaching out and trying to trap us within its clutches. I can see the orange tinted light slowly turning purple through a gap in the overhead canopy.

It isn't long before we have arrived back at Mistress's house; I make myself at home on her couch, as I usually do. I watch as twilight slowly turns to dusk outside the window.

Mistress seats herself beside me, and I am aware of her staring at me, looking expectant.

My eyes flicker, to meet her gaze, and she gives a weak smile and then a more of a grim expression.

This confuses me greatly, and I shuffle sideways to face her completely, "What is it?"

Her expression becomes firmer now, "Lencya, I am going to terminate the contract"

At first, these words don't register, and it takes a moment for me to decipher the meaning. _Terminate the contract… _Why would she do that? Wait… Is this a joke? A cruel prank as payback for me pointing out that grey hair while we were down at the lake? I look at her with a totally lost expression, "Come again?"

"It is time to move on. I will have to retire soon, and there are many young Celestial wizards out there who can keep up with you better than I" She goes on.

"What? No!" I exclaim and hold her shoulders. "Mistress, I have been in your family for two generations! You can't trade me away now, Mistress!" I protest desperately, and then shake my head.

This can't happen; we have known each other for too long. We are as similar as chalk and cheese, but, as close as two peas in a pot.

I see a tear well up in Mistress's eye, I fight back my own; I can't even remember the last time I wept. "I have made up my mind, Lencya" She chokes.

"Mistress… Why? Why now? I don't understand…" I trail off.

"But, on the bright side, somebody has already agreed to take your key, I have met him, and he will be perfect for you, trust me" She says, and gives a small smile.

I sigh deeply, because, despite this, I must trust her. If this guy is taking my key, I trust Mistress's judgement in trusting him, and I shall learn to too.

"You'll be lost without me" I make a small stab at a dry sense of humour.

Mistress chuckles, "Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine, and so will you" she assures.

I nod slowly, though I don't dare to meet her gaze. "When will I meet him?"

"As soon as I hand your key over I suppose, he will want to meet you as soon as he can" she replies.

"O-okay…"

"Well, goodbye, I am sure we will meet again" Mistress embraces me in a constricting hug.

My eyes widen in surprise, when was the last time I had ever been hugged? I only remember hugging Mistress when she lost her sister… A distraught day indeed. If she was going to see me again, then why could I feel her tears running down my shoulders?

I hold my arms around her as well, "Are you sure about this?" I ask, though my voice is a little shaky, this whole thing seems rather sinister.

"Yes. I am sure, don't worry" She replies and then pulls away from me.

Mistress then holds up my golden key, "Fair well, Lencya" her voice is weak this time. She waves the key and I find myself being pushed back through the Celestial gateway.


	2. Clouded Contraception

It was so sudden, and so un-expected, and extremely suspicious. It was too sudden, too random. I didn't like it, not one bit, but perhaps I was just going through denial. I would be meeting my new owner soon, hopefully as soon as possible. Maybe he is just as kind as Mistress… No, I can't call her that anymore; her real name is Belle, which is what I must refer to her as now.

Being in the Celestial world is more of a waiting game at the moment, I am anxious to be summoned. I watch as the seven planets slowly revolve about the purple shaded sky, this is really our only measure of time. A seventh of a rotation means one human day has passed, and so forth. Though, what is classed as one Celestial day, is roughly 84 days in the human world, but I have never been interested enough to accurately calculate it.

The Celestial spirit world is almost like a sort of parallel dimension, most things seem almost opposite to the human world. Where purples in nature seem exotic in the human world, green in nature seems exotic here.

The clothing is different too; humans consider our clothing rather ugly, while I think the same of theirs.

The planets have nearly done a full rotation when I am finally summoned. Summoning brings a tingling feeling first, and then once one lets it take them, it's almost like floating forth towards the gateway, then once they're passed that, it's not long until one finds themselves in the human world.

I have arrived in the human world, standing before a young fellow, younger than my owner. But still older than my Celestial age, which is sort of like what one physically looks like to humans. Though, we really don't age, which is why our keys are often kept in one family for many generations.

He looks me up and down, then smiles, though there is something off about it. He is tall and lean, and has black hair brushed back in a slick manner.

"Hello, dear" He greets me.

I nod tersely, "Greetings, Sir"

"Well, aren't you a pretty one? Powerful too I bet" He admires.

I should take it as a compliment, but it rubs me the wrong way, "I am not an artefact on display. So let's get down to business"

I feel bad immediately after, first impressions can mean a lot. I had promised myself to make Belle proud of being my prior owner, and I was already letting her down. Although I don't let this register on my facial features for him to see.

The fellow stiffens up a little; "Hm, she did warn me you'd be a handful for the first few days" He seems to shrug it off, "No matter, well, as you said, let's get down to business, what shall I address you as?"

"Lencya, and yourself?" I reply hastily.

"You will call me Master, no questions" He comments.

Well it seems fitting, though, for some reason, I get the impression he is trying to be superior, which makes me feel slightly agitated and very stubborn.

"What days will you be at my service?" He asks.

I am free mostly every day, and I was available for Belle any day she needed me, perhaps this is my chance to redeem myself.

"I can come to your service for any day of the week, though if something comes up, I will let you know" I reply, my voice becomes less hostile, which I am glad of.

"Perfect" He says in what I recognise as a sleazy tone. I have already messed this up enough so I dismiss it.

"Splendid. When will you be calling me next?" I ask.

"Likely quite soon, we will have to get to know each other better, though I am extremely busy at the moment, so hang tight" He replies.

I force a small smile, "Very well… Master"

His suspicious smile grows wider, "Perfect, dear"

I walk forward, and extend a hand; I have always known this as a way of sealing the contract and the bond between owner and spirit.

"What is it?" He asks and gives a confused glance.

"A handshake, Master, as a way of sealing the contract" I reply, still holding out my hand and watching expectantly.

He raises an eyebrow and then hesitantly takes my hand; I give a firm shake, while his is very brief. This annoys me slightly, though I dismiss it again.

"Well, that is that, I will be seeing you soon, Lencya" He says quickly and then raises my golden key.

"Fair well, Master" I reply before he sends me back.

I arrive back at the Celestial world with doubts about the arrangement, I feel a little conflicted and quite confused. The guy seemed a little odd, and suspicious… Or maybe this was just me being agitated about Belle terminating the contract. I knew I ought to just give him a chance, and I was trying to, but it all felt very off. If Belle thinks he is a good owner, then I will trust that, and try to shove the rest aside.

I had gotten an odd vibe off him though…


	3. Chary Doubts

Again, I find that being in the Celestial world is a waiting game. I absently watch the planets rotating; it seems to drag on forever. One day rotation… Two… Three… Four…

Finally, half way through the fourth day, Master summons me.

I wonder what the two of us will be doing; he said we would get to know each other, so maybe a walk? Or perhaps some training?

I am pulled through the gate, as I arrive in the human world, everything seems wildly blurred. I see something flying towards me, the face of a wizard, a male wizard, twisted in rage. I notice something in his hand; a split second too late… A sword.

The whole ordeal happens within the blink of an eye.

The wizard slashes his sword; I feel it slice down my back and an involuntary squeal of pain escapes my lips.

I am on my knees and can feel blood trickling down my back; I can see Master, standing in my peripheral vision.

"What is this?" I breathe.

"Shut up and focus" He snaps.

At that, my head spins around in an effort to spot the wizard. He is dashing towards me again, holding that nasty sword blade of his covered in my blood.

I scramble to my feet, and extend my arms, then slap the heels of my palms together. I spread my fingers apart and exclaim, "Leo flare burst!"

Brilliant amber shaded flames burst from my hands in all directions. They shoot forward and lock onto the target, into a sort of ball. I hear a pained cry, which immediately reminds me of my own pain. I find myself on the ground again, breathing heavily; using magic hadn't helped at all.

The wound must be extremely deep and very long, because it feels as if my whole back is on fire.

I whimper quietly, the flames slowly scatter into nothingness, and I know that the wizard is knocked out.

"Splendid job, Leo!" Master congratulates.

I continue to whimper, I am too weak to move, what was he thinking?

"It was a good first training session, I like it, keep fighting like that and you and I will be great friends!" He continues.

Training? That was _training?_ What does he think he is doing? Summoning me right in the middle of an attack? No, it wasn't that, he used me as a shield.

I feel immensely frustrated, Celestial spirits aren't tools.

"Master… Why?" I stutter, and force myself to look up.

"What do you mean? We have to train sometime" He replies apathetically.

I shake my head slightly, "You know what I mean"

"Ah never mind that, somebody had to protect me, you wouldn't want your Master to get injured now, would you?"

I shake my head again once more. Whether he took that the right why or the way I have intended him to take it, I don't know.

It has been a very long time since I have received an injury like this. I think I have either grown into a wimp, or this is far more severe than I think it is, because I can't stop whimpering and I feel as weak as ever, I want to cry, but that seems foolish.

"Wow, that sword made a deep cut, it looks nearly an inch deep" Master comments almost indifferently.

_An inch?_ No wonder it burns white hot. It must be bleeding like crazy, I am scared to check, but too weak to roll over anyway.

"We will have to work on your reflexes" He goes on and stands over me.

Of course, I want to yell at him by now, but I can't be bothered for it.

I see him get my golden key out of his pocket, and raise it above my head.

_Finally._

He waves it once and I am sent back to the Celestial world. Being here has a rejuvenating effect on Spirits, it restores magical energy, and it heals physical wounds too. Though, for large wounds, it is often nearly as painful as the inflicting. I can feel the flesh slowly sealing itself together, it is an excruciating process.

I lay in silence on my stomach, cringing as the wound heals itself.

How could he do that? It just isn't right. There must be a reasonable explanation for it, surely. Funny, not long ago I was thinking of anyway to criticise him, now I am making up excuses for him. There is no "reasonable" explanation for using a spirit as a shield. It's just plain wrong.


	4. Submit Or Suffer

Watching the planets rotate… One… Two… Three… Four… Five…

It's almost as if I belong more so in the human world than the Celestial world. I suppose that's due to Belle, she was always so kind, being in the human world was never a burden, it was a treat. But now, being in the Celestial world just builds up more suspense, what will he do to me next time? The whole shield ordeal may have just been a one off, an accident perhaps?

No, he did it on purpose. I know that from what he said afterwards; _"Ah never mind that, somebody had to protect me; you wouldn't want your Master to get injured now, would you?" _

Definitely not an accident.

What was Belle thinking? Giving me up to him? How could she even become acquaintances with somebody like him? It's not like I know her like the back of my palm, but there must be more to this dodgy deal.

The sixth day, nearly a whole week, I wonder what he has been doing during this time. He summons me, the tingling is wild; he must be waving that key around like mad.

I arrive in the human world; there is a beam of steel heading my way. I catch the smallest glimpse of a wizard, a steel moulding wizard.

I had braced myself for anything before arriving, so my reflexes are acute as ever. My hands slap together and then part and I hold them in front of me, as if touching a wall.

"Lion's barrier!" I cry and the flames fly from my hands again. This time, they rush around my hands and quickly form a giant wall of fire in front of me. I hold my hands still and keep it up for a moment. Master calls out to me, "Enough"

But, I have no reason to listen to him at the moment, if he treats me like a tool, then I will treat him like one too. Simply a passage into the human world.

I stop eventually though, no point cooking the life out of the wizard, he didn't really do anything wrong as far as I am concerned.

I turn to face Master, he applauds again, and I simply snarl, "I would like a word with you"

He nods tersely, "Afterwards, Lencya"

As the flames vanish I see that the wizard had been quick enough to leap away. His clothing was charred, but he was still in one piece and conscious.

"Is that enough?" He calls.

"No way, the battle is not over yet" I grin and hold out my hands again, ready to cast another spell, "Advance towards me brethren"

"No. That's enough, I call the shots" Master says firmly.

I shake my head, "And that is where you are wrong"

The steel moulding wizard seems eager to carry on too, he smirks impishly.

"Don't encourage her" Master says steadily and shakes his head.

"Don't listen to him, let's finish what _he_ started" I hiss.

I feel tingling again, and know that Master is trying to force the gateway closed. He is no match for my power or my will to battle, I stay put and continue to stare down the wizard standing five or so metres away.

"Leave" Master commands.

I continue to smirk, I had never realised how satisfying it was to ignore one's superiors. "I shall when I see fit"

Master growls and places a hand on my shoulder, but I brush it off, "You must listen to me" He rasps.

"I'm fine. Find yourself a more obedient spirit, will you? Return me to Belle, one worthy of my key" I snap back.

The second wizard chuckles and turns around, "Well dear Leo spirit, our score will call to be settled soon, until we meet again" He says and then takes off.

I let my hands fall to my side, "You scared the worthy opponent away" I muse.

I hear Master's shoes scuff in the dirt behind me, "Follow me, and I will show you into my house"

I shrug and then turn to follow, there isn't really much better to do. As I turn, I see a large almost mansion like building, Master must be rather wealthy. I had been fighting on the front of his property by the looks of it; large stone walls surrounded the very edge of the property perimeter.

Master opens the large doors and walks in; I follow and slam the doors behind me.

"You wanted to talk?" He asks as he walks through the mansion.

"Oh yes, and I think you already know why" I reply flatly.

He shrugs, "Well?"

"Well? _Well?_ You used me as a damn shield! What was that all about?!" I exclaim.

He shrugs and continues with an apathetic attitude, "I told you, a Celestial spirit must protect their owner, somebody had to, and this time it was you"

"_This time?_ Ha! You tried it again today!" I retort.

Master simply waved his hand into a gesture that suggested, _'leave me be'_. He kept his back to me and walked through the house, entering a large hall way lined with at least a dozen doors.

Now I am furious, he isn't even listening to me, which I can't stand. "How dare you" I snarl.

"You are a spirit, I am your Master, and I may use you how I please" He replies, still persisting with that indifferent tone.

_Use me?_ I hiss again and my eyes narrow into thin slits, "Celestial spirits are not tools! We are as alive as you are!"

He keeps walking and enters a kitchen; I grab his shoulder in frustration, "Hey! Listen to me!"

I see him reach for something, but it's too late.

He throws his arm back, with a white glass plate in his hand.

It shatters all over my face upon hitting my head; I feel the tiny shards of glass embed themselves into the side of my face. I hit the ground and scream, "Bastard!"

Master chuckles, and drops the rest of the plate on the ground; it shatters too, "You dare to cuss at me?"

I hold my hand over the left side of my face; I am horrified as I feel shards lodged into my check and jaws.

This burns far worse than the gash; I know I should pick the glass out, but the pain would surely triple, and fuel the flames of pain. It feels like an open flame on my face. It hurts to talk, or move at all really, but I must say something, my torso heaves. "You're… heartless"

He scoffs and gives me a shove with his foot, "You're stronger than that, get up" he orders.

I feebly prop myself up on an elbow, and shake my head, "S-send me… back"

"You deserve this"

"Please send me back"

Master kneels down to me, "Will you promise to never defy me again?" he asks with a devilish smile.

"Never… Will I… Bow down to one… So low as you" I breathe heavily.

His smile only grows wider, "Well then, you shall remain in the human world until you lose that attitude"

My eyes grow back into narrow slits as I glare at him. I draw my hand from my face; it is covered in dark crimson liquid, my own blood. It hurts more as it is exposed to the cold atmosphere. I put my hand back to my face, but this hurts far worse, as I have pushed the glass shards further. I am not sure how much blood I am losing, but I slowly begin to feel extremely dizzy. If I don't return soon, it will all be over for me within a few hours, I am going to die at my own Master's hands. This time, I am too weak to force myself through the gate. My arm shakes uncontrollably and I fall back onto the ground completely.

"Make your choice sweetheart, obey me or die" Master raps.

I glance at him as he leans over me, "Why…? Why are you doing this?"

"You are the servant, and it is my duty to make sure you follow my orders and are firmly disciplined" He replies simply and retrieves my golden key from his pocket. "Now what will it be?"

I barely have the strength by now to speak, let-a-lone snatch the key myself, which is what I really want to do right now. That would be against the rules anyway. My face feels as if the skin has been peeled off, or _is_ being peeled off. I have no choice, it hurts my proud to admit it, but this guy is a power player.

"Okay… Fine… You win" I mumble.

"Say it. Who's the boss? Who is the servant? Why are you here?" He demands

I cringe, who does he think I am? There are many things I want to say right now, but I figure that I shouldn't push my luck.

"You are the Master… I am the Celestial Spirit… I am here to serve you…" I breathe, the room begins to spin.

"Finally, you have come to your senses" Master replies, and I am soon back through the gateway.


	5. Ruthless Impasse

Being in the human world is officially frightening. Who knows what Master has planned for me next? After my little performance before?

But being in the Celestial world isn't exactly a safe haven. My wound couldn't heal until I had picked out every last glass shard, then; the healing was nearly as painful as digging out the glass. After my monstrous wound had finally healed, then I had earned myself a visit from the Celestial Spirit king himself. He warns me that continued resistance of my Master may result in a punishment if it gets out of hand.

At this point, I'm not sure what to do. The human world is far from safe for me, and I have no intention of listening to Master, which will mean that the Celestial world will not be great either.

I had never quite agreed with the rule system between Celestial spirits and humans.

The Spirits had many rules to follow, whether the humans didn't have any. Spirits couldn't physically harm their owner, and if they resisted on numerous occasions, then this would result in punishment. Spirits were not allowed to run from their owners either, or steal their own key.

I had heard of some of the Celestial Spirits here having to put up with strict or abusive owners, now I understand their misery.

Somehow, I still have the will to resist Master though, I remember how pumped I felt the first time. It was actually rather satisfying. I would never allow him to rule me; never would I bow down to him. Of course, I would fake this to get out of abuse, as I had before, but it would never last.

Over the next three days, Master attempts to summon me over a dozen times, but I continue to force the gate closed and stay put.

After one full rotation, I let him summon me. As I grow curious as to how he came to meet Belle, I must find out their relationship. If I get that out of him, I may be able to see her again if I play my cards right, I am willing to try anything by now.

I arrive in Master's mansion, in a large lounge room I think. There are three large couches around the room; each would seat at least four. There are a handful of men around the room; some have a glass of cold liquid in their hands.

Master stands beside me, "This is Lencya" He introduces.

The men look my way, smiling, but not in a good natured way.

I force a smile back, "And who are these men?" I whisper to Master.

"Friends of mine" he replies simply, and takes a seat on the closest couch, next one of his friends.

I shuffle awkwardly, why did he summon me now? I hardly ever shy away, but this is an exception.

"A fine specimen indeed, you did well to get your hands on her" One fellow comments.

There it is again, objectification, officially one of my pet hates. This quickly gets me fired up again, I find myself staring at the man, "Don't even go there" I breathe, only loud enough for him to hear over the loud chatter.

He shrugs and takes another gulp of his cold beverage.

"She's going on the market, boys!" Master chortles.

_Market?_ What is that supposed to mean? What market?

"You'll get big bucks from her" The same man comments again.

It sounds as if Master is going to sell me. Is that even legal? To make a contract with a Spirit and then terminate it to gain profit from others? I suppose humans don't have rules regarding what they can and can't do with Celestial Spirits.

"I'll buy her off you right now for three thousand jewels" The man beside Master boasts.

That red light goes off in my brain again… _Objectification_. Each time it further irritates me.

One man standing a few feet away steps closer and puts an arm over my shoulders then leans in, I distinctively smell alcohol on his breath, that will be what the drinks are.

"What do you say, Lencya? Why don't we put you on display, up on that wall? It'll earn your Master truckloads of money if you do it right" He says drearily.

The red light nearly explodes, it makes my skin crawl. I can't help myself. Small ambers spark from my fingertips and I burn through the man's clothes as I shove him off. He yowls and stumbles into a wall, this causes a loud bang, and I think I can see a dint in it.

I chuckle quietly, that was surprisingly amusing.

"Lencya!' Master roars.

I don't even look at him, but glare at any other man that dares to look my way.

I feel a hard yank and realise that Master has a handful of my hair; he had risen from the couch out of my view. He pulls me forward, and I dig my heels in.

"Leave the spirit alone" The man that had been sitting beside him muses.

"Move!" Master commands.

"No" I reply simply.

He sighs and forces me out of the room, and slams the door as we enter a smaller room. It is bare, with beige walls, a small window, and some red carpet.

He lifts me from the ground, by my hair. Of course, it is excruciating, but I will not give him the satisfaction of squealing.

He drops me; I land on my knees with a sound thud. "What now? More abuse? Go for it, I think I've just about adapted to it" I say flatly, without looking at him.

"You bet!" He snaps, and draws something from his belt, he throws his arm out and the object extends. It looks like a sort of stick, a long thin stick.

I am not at all surprised when he hits me across the back a few times with it. I cringe, but don't move, or let out even a squeak, otherwise he would think he is winning.

He stops, his arm is probably sore, he has given up I think.

This is my chance to find out what I came for. The only reason I allowed him to draw me to the human world.

"How did you know Belle? I want to see her again" I say simply.

"No, you will not be seeing her again. You are my spirit, you will stay here" he replies, panting a little.

I ignore this and ask again, "How do you know Belle?"

"Why do you care?"

"How do you know her?"

"She is a cousin"

I know that he had been stalling for a moment there, and his last statement had been a lie. I have learnt how to pick up on these kinds of human habits, it is nothing new, and it is rather obvious. However he got a hold of my key, it wasn't because he is related, he probably isn't even a friend.

"How did you get my key?" I push on.

"It doesn't matter to you" Master snaps.

"Why do you have my key?"

"I said it doesn't matter!" He roars and hits me again with his nasty stick.

I snarl, "Why?! Why do you have my key? What for?!"

"Shut up Lencya!" The stick lashes across my upper arm.

"How do you know Belle?!" I continue to demand.

"Stop asking questions!" The stick slashes at my throat this time.

"Answer me!"

"You answer to me, not the other way around!"

Master tries to force the gate closed again, which I will not allow. I rise to my feet and take a step towards him, "Tell me!" I bellow in his face.

He slaps me across the face with his ferocious stick, I find myself facing the other way.

"I said it before, you answer to me. I am commanding you to leave, now do it" He says, his voice is suddenly calmer; he must think he is getting through to me. He is actually foolish enough to believe, that he is _winning_.

I chuckle deeply, in a very dry manner, "No amount of abuse will make me bow to you. Haven't you figured it out yet? You can never crush my spirit" I say as I turn back to face him, with a new devilish smile daring to dance across my facial features.

Master hurls that stick at my face again, this time I easily catch it in my hand, then rip it away from him. I hold it in between my two hands, and snap it, Master flinches as I do this, and I carelessly toss the remainder of the weapon away.

"Listen here, I want answers, and won't be leaving until I get them" I warn sternly.

"Oh really?" He takes another stab at being superior.

I step forward and bear my teeth in his face, fire lights in my hair, causing it to rise into the formation of a lion's mane. "Yes, now stop yabbering and start answering" I hiss.

He seems to shy away slightly, "You can't hurt me, that would get you kicked out"

"Try me" I retort.

He raises an eyebrow and steps back, the fire in my hair dies down a little.

"Fine" He says.

"Well?"

He sighs, "The key wasn't exactly given to me"

It wasn't? So this was a dodgy deal, I had been set up and so had Belle. But how? What had he done? Stolen it? He must have stolen my key. But why would he go into all that trouble for my key? I know it is a rare golden key, but to go into all that effort seemed a little extreme. Especially for a spirit he must have known wouldn't cooperate with him.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Master has forced the gateway closed. I had allowed myself to become distracted.

No matter, I have enough to ponder for the moment, I will be seeing him again in a little bit, whether he likes it or not.


	6. Agony Of Veracity

Over the next full rotation, I continue to force my way through the gate way, and hound Master for answers. But he is both stubborn and ignorant, he won't let up. He barely has any control over me anymore, I come and go at will, and I don't answer to his summoning. As a result, the Celestial spirit king is constantly on my back; it won't be long until I will be punished.

Finally, I have had enough, I force my way through the gate way for the fifth time during the full rotation. I find Master, training another spirit with another wizard. He probably stole that key too. I fearlessly dash right into the middle of the battle and fly into a rage. Flames burst in all directions, and rise into a vortex around me. The blaze only dies down when I realise how much magical energy I am wasting, I must save this for Master.

For the first time, his expression is ridden in fear. This satisfies me to no end, finally, he gets it.

I march over to him; he seems to scramble backwards a few paces, "Answers. I want answers, dammit!" I roar.

He draws another whipping stick. Nope, I was wrong; he doesn't understand it at all.

"You ignorant fool! You still don't get it!" I burn the stick to ashes as I grab it from him. My power hasn't come to this peak for some time now. "Tell me how you got a hold of my key!"  
"Still looking for answers? Give up already" He retorts.

I want to throttle him, but… I can't, I can't do anything without breaking the rules.

"Give me answers" I murmur.

He simply shakes his head, "You won' get answers acting like this. I have never heard of such a disobedient spirit, you haven't done anything for me in a whole week"

"There's a reason for that!" I snap back.

"Lencya, calm down, just stop this" Master attempts to reassure, but I sense the note of fear in his voice.

I shake my head and glare at him, "I want answers. Give me answers and I will stop bothering you"

"And how can I believe you?"

"You're right. You can't believe me, or trust me. And I can't believe or trust a word that leaves your lips, but, I have no other option, and nor do you"

"Oh really? So I have no other option then to answer your questions?" He scoffs.

"Unless you want me to drag you to hell, then yes" My lip curls to bear pearly white teeth.

Master laughs heartily, "You can't kill me, that would be against the rules, don't kid yourself"

I let my head drop to my chest. He's right, and it hurts to have to give up like this. He is stubborn, and safe knowing that harming him would mean major punishment for me, and I am sure that when I return, the Celestial Spirit King will have something planned for me, no doubt about it.

Is there really any point? Giving up now? When I have already dug myself such a deep hole? Am I too deep to back out already? I feel as if I have no reason to obey anybody's rules. Like a rogue, belonging in nobody's world, but lingering like a haunted ghost.

But… Killing is not the answer; I suppose I had known that from the start. I know what Belle would say; she has said to me before, though in different circumstances, _"Lencya, you are a fierce fighter, but… You are not a killer, don't let anyone change that"_

The words had been bouncing around in my head for some time, but had never really surfaced until now.

"Now come in will you? And we shall discuss this properly" Master says calmly. He turns on his heel and heads for the house.

I look up to watch him leave; my expression remains blank, because I am not really sure what to feel at the moment. Anger that he is so calm, fear because I know what awaits me in the Celestial Spirit world, misery for disrespecting Belle's words and threatening to kill my own Master, irritability of still not having answers…

I absently follow Master inside, he starts speaking to me, but not directly, so I pay no attention to his words. It seems fair, if he won't pay attention when I am talking to him, or even be bothered to face me when he talks, then I won't either.

Master guides me to the lounge room and sits down on the couch. He pats a spot beside him, "Take a seat"

I grunt and sit down at the couch furthest away from him.

He sighs, "I really hope we can repair the broken trust between us"

"No hope in hell" I retort simply.

"Hm." He looks at me thoughtfully, "Anyway, I would like to discuss the terms of the contract"

"And?" I still don't bother making eye contact with him.

"You are my spirit, I own your key. You can't just go off and do your own thing, you will be punished by both the Celestial Spirit king and I" He explains.

I already know all of this, but the thing he fails to see, is that I really don't care for rules at this point. "If you haven't already noticed, regardless of rules, I am going to continue to disobey you, because I have no reason to listen to you"

"That thinking will get you punished severely"

"Well? How? How are you going to punish me?" I lock gazes with him now.

He sighs again, "I will have to discipline you with a whip next time"

I chuckle flatly, "A whip this time? Ha! You still remain ignorant. Again, no amount of abuse will make me obey you" I look away again, and vaguely examine the room.

"I will give you one more chance, now get up, and get me a drink of water" He commands.

I laugh again, he is _still_ trying to be superior; _"one more chance"_ How ridiculous. "You still dare to attempt to order me around? You are more foolish then I give you credit for" I reply as I twirl my long golden locks in between my fingers to preoccupy myself.

"If you don't listen to me…" He begins, but I am sick of it and cut him off.

"You'll abuse me until I can't move, right? Do it then! Stop threatening and do it! Abuse me for all its worth." I cut in recklessly.

"You have left me no choice." He begins, I am still not interested and don't look at him as he carries on, "If you continue to disobey me… I will harm Belle"

I am a little surly at first, but as this sinks in, my attention snaps up to him. "You wouldn't" I say tersely.

"Oh but I would. I know exactly where she is, and if you don't drop the attitude and do your job, then it will mean big trouble for her" he replies, and the cruellest of smiles plays on his facial features.

Would he really do that? I suppose I ought not to underestimate him. If he hurt Belle I would never forgive myself. I know he has thought this through, he found a way to my weakness… Loyalty. I get the horrible feeling that he is bluffing, but… I don't want to take any chances. I know now that I have to obey him, if I continue to disobey, then Belle will get hurt, and I will become an outcast in the Celestial Spirit world. But if I _do_ obey, then I get in the good books with the Celestial Spirit king, and Belle is safe. He really is a power player; using anything he can to manipulate me. I thought I was winning for a while there, but he has been planning this moment, I know he has.

After that, I had no choice but to obey him. I came and went when asked, fought and carried out tasks when ordered to do so. Luckily, due to my sharp turn in attitude, the Celestial Spirit king was willing to lay off me for now, but I am still teetering on the edge.

It really does crush me, to know that I can't win; Master will find a way around this. He is bigger, smarter and stronger.

I was foolish for believing I would get treatment equal to a human. Being with Belle has lulled me into that false security; I actually thought I was a human. But, I'm not, I know that now. I am just a spirit; I should never expect to be treated like a human, such an absurd concept. I had allowed myself to buy into it, and look where it has gotten me. I actually tried to fight for my rights, rights that I didn't have. Humans are superior; I should have seen it before. It is the reason that Celestial spirits have rules, and the humans don't.

After at least one full rotation, I_ do_ get my answers though. Well, some of them at least. I don't know why Master would give me answers, he doesn't have to, and it makes me suspicious.

"You want to know how I got your key?" He questions.

I simply nod stiffly in reply.

"Well, to tell you the truth, it wasn't easy" He begins and lies back further on the couch, "Belle didn't want to give you up, no sum of money would pay the price for friendship or something she said like that"

I am listening attentively now. It's true, Belle never wanted to give me up; this makes me feel a little better, but far more curious.

"I ended up having to blackmail her to get your key" He says.

My eyes widen, he blackmailed Belle? To get _my _key? It doesn't seem right somehow, why would anyone go into so much trouble for an unruly Celestial spirit? In fact, I am surprised he hasn't sold me off to one of his friends yet.

"Why did you go into so much trouble for a key, Master?" I probe.

I don't expect him to give me answers, I expect him to hit me for asking questions. So I shut my eyes, and wait for that nasty stick to hit me across the face. But… It doesn't. Instead, Master gives me answers. And far more than I would have ever dreamed of getting.

"There is a market, for Celestial Spirits. Celestial wizards go to buy powerful or good looking spirits. Once they are bought, the previous owner terminates the contract with the spirit and hands the key over. You will be going soon enough" He explains indifferently.

A whole market for Celestial spirits? So that's what he had meant by "market" when he was talking to his friends. Usually, that little red light would go off about now, but I think it broke when I realised that I am just a spirit.

"Behave yourself and I will get a large sum of jewels" He says.

I can't help but grit my teeth; it irritates me knowing that he is manipulating me to gain jewels. I have seen humans driven to extreme lengths for money, it confuses me. Why would anybody go to such extremes simply for something materialised like jewels? It has never made sense to me. Belle never really cared for it; I respected her for that, being different to the others.


	7. Crush Into Sand

Master begins to "train" me, but not through battle. Instead, he is giving me pointers on how to appeal to the buyers. He promises that if I do well and get him good money, he will not harm Belle after I have left. I don't believe anything he says anymore, but I am not willing to take that chance.

Master tells me about the presentations. It happens once a month, and during the presentations, spirits are shown off in front of the crowd first, and then they are pitted against each other. This part makes me uneasy, as many of the spirits are my friends. Though most of them have golden keys, and I know that it would be hard for anyone to get a hold of one, even harder to give it away.

After battling, each spirit is then individually auctioned, though it depends how many wizards attend. Master says that many will be attending this year, as sellers have managed to obtain a handful of golden keys.

After nearly two whole rotations of Master's training, he leaves me be in the Celestial world for a few human days. I am relieved to have time to myself for a while, a little time to sort myself out. He had been summoning me non-stop nearly every seventh of a rotation. Master had warned me that I was forbidden to mention the market to anybody else. I am dying to find out which other spirits will be there, so I know which friends I may be losing, but I can't risk asking the wrong spirits.

Each golden key has both a male and female counterpart. Almost like twins, sometimes they may look nearly exactly the same, or very different. Though, if one looks like a human, then the other will as well, and if one resembles an animal, the other will too. Most of the spirits share a very close bond with their twin, I am hoping that none of them will be forced to fight each other, though I still doubt the market will have two golden keys of the same spirit, it is highly unlikely. My male counterpart is Loke; I have not seen him in quite a while though. We are in the form of a human, and have what is described as lion like hair. I have been very close with him in the past, like brother and sister.

I know that the next time Master summons me, it will be market day, so I cherish my alone time. At least one good thing has come out of this, I will never have to see his face again, and I can only hope that my next owner is more respectful of spirits. Even if he isn't, but doesn't abuse me, then I can live with that.

As I had expected, Master summons me, but it is right in the middle of presentations, he hastily informs me that I will be next. I seem to be behind a sort of stage, I notice a few other spirits behind me, watching nervously next to their owners. A few of whom I recognise; male and female Virgo counterparts, female Aries, those are a small handful which I am on good terms with, and likely won't be after this. I notice a few other silver key spirits, though I don't really recognise them. As I scan over the small crowd, I think I see Loke, but Master has shoved me on stage.

I am temporarily disorientated by the bright sun, high in the sky, its gaze is harsh.

As my eyes come into focus, I see a crowd of strangers below the stage, all humans. There is a small speaker beside me, and it booms my name, "Lencya the female Leo spirit!"

Where are they holding this? How could they allow so much noise without being discovered? It must be quite a distance away from any of the towns or cities.

There is a roar of life from the crowd, applauding and whistling. I hear some of them shouting and assume them to be jewel offers, but they are all drowned out by the rest of the crowd.

Now what? Am I supposed to dance or something? That seems obnoxious though. I glance behind my shoulder, but Master is nowhere to be seen. The one time that I actually want to see his face, it's not there. I wish I had seen some of the other spirit's presentations.

The crowd seems to be doing all the work for me, they continue to uproar as I absently just stand there.

So I lift a single hand and simply wave to them, with a very fake smile upon my face.

If possible, even though the crowd is relatively small, they seem to become louder. I keep up this act until the speaker is talking again, "Thank you Lencya, well that concludes the appeals, the battles will be coming up soon"

I look around blankly at first, and then shuffle off stage the way I came on, and Master is waiting for me there.

"What did you do? They went wild" He asked.

"Actually, I didn't really do anything… Just smile and wave" I reply quietly.

"Hm"

Master then shepherds me away from the stage and we end up before a large field of just blank grass and dirt. I suppose this must be where the battles will take place. Soon enough, the field is surrounded in wizards and spirits line up on the sideline with their owners.

I scan the spirits again, searching for Loke, I could have sworn I had seen him before, but, I really hope I was hallucinating.

I can't see him, but the crowd is thick, he may be late…

I am accompanied by Aries, the timid lamb girl. She seems to be shaking, standing next to a woman.

I shuffle sideways, careful not to attract Master's attention.

I dip my head slightly to her ear, "I am sure we'll be fine" I whisper.

She shakes her head slightly, "You m...might be"

"Strength is not the only factor at play here"

"At least you have been… trained"

"More like severely abused for the last human month of my life" I reply flatly in an undertone.

Her eyes widen a little, "A-are you serious?"

I nod pithily.

We remain silent for the next few moments, but neither of us moves, company seems to be the most comforting thing right now.

I don't notice the speaker at the other end of the field until it starts making announcements again, "First, we have male and female Virgo counterparts!"

Out of all spirits, they just had to pit those two together first. I know them both, and the two are as close as Belle and I were. To see them forced to fight each other, is just so wrong.

The battles seem to carry on forever; I am anxiously awaiting my name to be called. They seem to do all the golden keys first, except for me… I wonder why. Aries battles against a silver key, she isn't much built for battle, and is unfortunately knocked out within two minutes. Her owner returns her to the Celestial world, and then brings her back moment later.

Then my name comes… Finally… But, what I hear makes me wish I would have been knocked out before.

"And now… It's time for… Lencya and Loke! The male and female Leo spirits!"

I feel the blood from my face vanish. So he _is_ here. And I must fight against him… They have saved this battle for the grand finale, the two leaders of the star signs… Shoved into a fighting pit.

I must have instantly frozen because I feel Master pushing me onto the field; I can't hear a thing over the crowd's roars though.

As I turn around, Loke is at the other end of the field, he looks out to me.

I want to talk to him, apologise for this.

Suddenly, he begins to walk my way, and stops half way up the field. I sense my cue and walk over to him; I must restrain myself from running. The crowd falls into a hush as we meet halfway.

"Lencya, I apologise for this mess" he says glumly, and then opens his arms.

"Loke…" I trail off as I lean in and we hug each other in a comforting manner, "I am sorry too… But, I must fight; I have the weight of another life on my shoulders"

"Don't hold back then" He encourages, though his tone is as flat as mine.

The speaker booms again, "What's this? The two are embracing! Well, that's no way to treat an opponent"

I want to smash it, and scream_, 'Shut up!'_ But I know I can't do that.

"Please forgive me" I ask Loke tersely.

"Likewise. I hope when this is over we can still remain friends"

"You can count on it"

He pulls away, and we exchange a small nod and a weak smile, before turning to return to our sides of the field.

When I reach Master, he is already scolding me, "What was all that about? You can't do that!"

"Just stop it. Please. Some people like spirits whom show compassion you know" I hastily lie.

His expression changes to curious, I smile impishly as I turn away.

Being his puppet really has crushed me, in more ways than one.


	8. The Last Straw

"And now, let the battle… Begin!" The speaker announces.

I extend my arms, prepared to cast an enchantment when needed.

Loke and I freeze, completely, and study each other from opposite ends of the field. I don't want to be the first to attack, but… I think he is waiting for me. He knows_ I_ have to fight, but he doesn't.

"Oh…" I say quietly. Loke is going to let me win.

The crowd is strangely quiet; you could hear a pin drop. They await the first move, and at this rate, I don't think it's going to come.

I need to stall, get some extra time; procrastinate.

I have an idea, but whether it will work or not… I'll just have to risk it.

I raise my hands, and fan them out in front of my face, then as I draw my fingers together, "Lion's Barrier"

But, that is not all; I turn once in a circle. As desired, the flames begin to form a giant wall around me, in a vortex. Nobody can see me now. I walk forward, and the flames move with me.

Well this is a start.

I walk up the field, inside my little barrier of fire. As I think I am close, I put the palms of my hands together, and then slowly draw them apart. My barrier of fire makes a small gap, and I see Loke standing a few feet away, and watching me thoughtfully. I walk forward a few more paces, so that he is also within my vortex. I then drop my arms, and the small gap vanishes.

"What _are_ you doing?" he asks curiously.

"Creating more time" I answer.

"It looks more like you're wasting magic"

"And that too" I sigh deeply, and run my fingers through my hair before speaking again, "Are you going to let me win? Just give me a straight answer"

"Yes" He replies simply.

"No Loke" I shake my head, "Don't let me win. That makes me feel ten times worse, you know?"

"Regardless. You have a reason to win, but I don't really. All of these spirits have a reason to appear, but not a reason to fight"

"Think of it as a spa then, we have never tested our strength against each other"

"Hm. I suppose you're right"

"Don't you dare let me win, that's not in the nature of a Leo" I tease.

He smirks, "In that case… Prepare to battle"

By now, the flames are beginning to die down, so I let them fall completely.

Loke and I back away from each other once more, watching warily, but we both show an impish smile.

This time, Loke makes the first move. Which I am relieved of.

Large amounts of flames fly my way. I quickly allow my fists to meet in front of my chest, "Leo Surge" A ball of fire begins to form in front of me, it swells until it is nearly double my size. I draw my fists apart and it flies up the field. As it reaches Loke, it explodes completely.

There is a large amount of smoke, and I can't see Loke yet, if it _did_ hit, he will surely be on the ground.

More flames fly from the smoke, they streak towards me like homing missiles. I immediately throw up another lion's barrier. As Loke's flames meet mine, the whole barrier explodes and I am thrown backwards a few feet.

It doesn't do to fight fire with fire, it will never end well. No two elements of the same kind can overcome each other; it simply makes for an exhausting struggle.

But, I guess that's the idea.

The quicker I finish this, the better it is for the both of us. However, as far as I know, each golden key spirit is just as powerful as their counterpart; one cannot be stronger than the other.

How can one defeat a spirit, using its own magic?

I'll just have to fight until I am exhausted.

I rise from the ground, and my fists meet again, I shall try it again.

The ball of fire grows larger and larger. I see Loke mimicking my move.

"This shall be interesting" I mumble.

My fists part and the ball of fire soars across the field, as does Loke's. The two meet halfway, I hit the ground as they explode into a storm of fire.

Now, I must end this quickly. Perhaps a self-destructive spell might do it. I will knock myself out for sure, but, at least it will end the battle. I can only hope nobody else will get caught in the aftermath.

I can feel my magic withering, this is my last chance.

I draw my hands to meet each other close to my body, and then extend them forward, and drag them away, to rotate halfway around my body. I pause and hold this for a moment, "Wrath of the lion!" I cry and slap my hands together again.

I feel the fire magic pulsing through my body; my hair rises into the classic lion mane formation.

Within the blink of an eye, fire erupts from my body and laps over every inch of the field in a fiery inferno.

As soon as I feel the fire leave my body, I am instantly knocked out. I know this because I find myself in the Celestial world what seems like only seconds later.

My magic has been restored, I can feel it. Wrath of the lion is the most powerful spell I have, it instantly knocks out the user due to the way it drains magic so suddenly. But even after one is knocked out, the fire explodes and continues to burn for up to three minutes after.

I don't want to go back now, I am afraid of what I will find, of what I may have done to Loke…

Regardless, Master is summoning me not long after I have been revived, and I return as he orders.

I arrive upon the now very charred looking field, any grass that was here is totally incinerated. Loke is no-where to be seen.

Master stands beside me, "It was a risky move you made, both you and Loke were instantly out to it"

"That's what I was going for" I murmur.

"The crowd was wild" He goes on.

After he says that I become aware to the crowd's noise again, it seems I had blocked it all out before-hand. But now I hear them applauding and whistling again.

I sigh deeply, "What now?"

"Now, I will take you to the waiting shack, and you will await the auction" Master replies.

As he said, he escorts me to a small shack, where I wait with the other spirits. Each spirit is put in chains, which Master says is a safety precaution. I have chains placed around my wrists, attached to shackles; I sit in the corner by Aries. She is shaking more than she had been before the battles.

Loke soon joins the two of us; he is chained by his ankles. I don't know why the wizards bother, Loke and I could leave if we really wanted to, but, we both have our reasons for staying.

"Nearly time…" I say as the female Virgo spirit is taken out of the shack.

"I don't like this… I don't like this at all" Aries comments shakily.

I shake my head, "None of us likes it. But, we can't do a damn thing about it"

"Leo spirits are stronger than the rest of us, you two could leave" She goes on.

I shake my head again, "If we wanted to leave, we would have done so before the battles"

Loke seems to just blankly stare out the window, "So what are your reason of staying, Lencya?"

I hesitate a little before answering, "Master is… Cunning, abusive, he knows how to get what he wants. He threatened to harm my old Mistress if I did not cooperate"

"Abusive you say?" Loke looks my way this time.

I simply nod in reply, as I had earlier with Aries, no further words are needed.

I hastily move on, "What about you Loke? Why are you staying?"

He averts his attention back to the small window. "My owner is poor, he needs the money, I suggested this fate in the first place"

"I see…" There are no further comments after this.


	9. Bending Rules

My auction comes and goes relatively quickly, or maybe I just wasn't paying attention. The price for the key reaches over three million jewels, which I think is just ridiculous.

The winner is a young woman, with long green hair of an unusual shade. She introduces herself as; Karen.

It doesn't take long to figure out that she views me as an object. It is even detectable in her tone. But what does it matter anymore? I think I gave up on being treated well after I was hit across the face with that plate, or maybe it was the whipping during the next summoning. Either way, I know now that fighting for rights I don't have is a waste of breath, energy and magic.

My Master warns her about my strong headed attitude, though he later comments that he thinks he may have beaten most of it out of me. Which is sadly true, I have never felt quite the same since he threatened to hurt Belle.

He hands the key over, I barely acknowledge Karen at all; I can only hope that she will not be as abusive as he was, though he may have just given her ideas.

It's almost as if she is somehow trying to cheer me up or something, because moments later, she purchases both Aries and Loke. This seems like some kind of miracle, a miracle which is too good to be true, I know this won't last. And if it does, I can only get part of the bargain. I may have Loke and Aries, but that will mean that Karen will have to be abusive. Because I can't get the best of both, life just doesn't play fair like that, especially for a Celestial Spirit.

"This can't be happening…" I murmur softly to Loke and Aries, as we follow Karen through the crowd.

"It's too perfect…" Loke agrees.

"Well don't go jinxing it away!" Aries squeals, and then quickly claps her hand to her mouth and looks down.

Perhaps I ought to enjoy it while I can; it surely can't last long, which would be too fair.

Humans don't have rules, fate doesn't have rules, destiny doesn't have rules, but Celestial spirits have rules. That's why the first three are able to so easily manipulate us, because we have rules to break, but they have none to follow.

I am surely only seeing this through my perspective, but I don't care enough to analyse it any further.

As we come out of the crowd, Karen gathers the three of us next to the field which I had battled on not long before.

She asks us questions, where we have come from, as if she is trying to make friends.

Aries seems happy to abide, whether Loke is harder to get answers out of, I can't say I blame him. So when my turn comes, I use my last ounce of will power to dig my heels in. She does not need answers from me, I feel I have been psychologically manipulated enough already.

"What do they call you?" She asks in her firm voice.

"Leo Celestial Spirit" I answer lazily, not bothering to make eye contact.

"Yes, but what is _your _name?"

I sigh deeply, "Lencya"

"Interesting, did you learn much with your last Master?"

If Celestial spirits could scar, then she would not have bothered asking that question, because I would have scars all over my face. Regardless of this, I am sure she already knows how he treated me; I see no point in answering.

Instead, I remain silent and anxiously look away; will she beat me for it? I am waiting, bracing myself for something to hit me, or for Karen herself to slap me. Fortunately, it never comes, but she persists to question me.

"What about your first owner, were they kind to you?"

This question causes something within me to stir; whether with agony of being separated from Belle, or happiness of remembering the moments we shared, I am unsure.

But something compels me to speak, with meaning this time, for the first time in a while.

"Yes. Mistress was kind. I was in her family for over three generations. She was my friend, not my leader, which is more than I can ever say for Master. Abusive and controlling" My voice is quite firm, as if making a statement.

"I see…" Finally, Karen ceases to question me, and quickly move on to making the contracts.

In the end, I absent-mindedly agree to see her on whatever day, being in the Celestial world just allows my tension of suspicion and anxiety to mount.

Karen leads us back the other way, through the crowd once more.

As we come away from the crowd, an older man comes running towards us, Karen stops and waits. I wasn't listening, but he must have called her name.

Somehow, as the man gets closer, he looks familiar… I consider trying to rake my brain for answers, but taking a trip down memory lane doesn't sound very appealing, who knows what else I might re-live.

I guess he must be a friend of Karen's, but I immediately reconsider this once he speaks, "Karen, I have come to make an offer, I would like to purchase one of those spirits back off you"

This makes my attention snap up to him.

See? I knew this arrangement was too good to be true.

I would usually expect Karen to deny this offer, as she had only just won the auction under an hour ago. But I know that she will have to accept it, because things have to be that way. The three of us have to be separated, because otherwise it would just be too easy.

Karen must have lost a lot of money in the auction though, which I guess is the _real_ reason that I see her considering the offer.

"I can give you the full price, just as much as you paid for them" the man presses on, eying Karen anxiously.

If he is so eager to get a hold of one of us, why hadn't he just bid higher? Surely he would have been able to if he is willing to pay full price now.

"Perhaps… Why do you want one of my spirits?" Karen questions.

"I have my reasons, do you want the money or not?" The fellow replies, I know he is trying to make the power of the deal fall into his hands.

Somehow, he actually succeeds.

"Fine. I shall offer you Aries, my weaker spirit" she says.

_Weaker…_ I hate that term. It doesn't exist as far as I am concerned; everybody has to be strong at something.

The man eyes Aries, with almost disappointment shown upon his features.

I tilt my head slightly, he didn't ask for one in particular, so is he uneasy about this?

"What about Lencya?" He questions.

I raise an eyebrow, why me?

Karen scoffs, "Aries or nothing, I have both golden Leo keys, you can't expect me to give them up in a hurry"

"She has a strong will" He begins.

_Did have a strong will,_ I feel like correcting.

"She is strong headed and hard to control for new owners, just ask the last guy. He hit her over the face with a plate and she still didn't listen" He goes on.

I want to snarl, he doesn't even know the extent of it. How dare he dis-credit me in such a way, when he doesn't even know the details.

Humans are so judgmental.

"Really?" Karen questions, as if reconsidering.

"Yes really, he had to blackmail her" The man presses on.

For some odd reason, I almost expect Karen to feel sympathy for me. But money is more important to humans; I should know that by now.

"Fine. But I want more jewels" She demands.

The man's face seems to fall, but he regathers himself quickly. "I'll give you three million and three thousand"

"Three million and five thousand"

"Four thousand"

"Done"

Karen retrieves my golden key from her pocket and hands it over; the man gives her three large bags of jewels in return.

Karen seems to leave in a hurry, taking Loke and Aries with her. I manage a feeble wave as they turn their backs.

It could never last.

The fellow beams at me, "Hello Lencya"

I don't reply.

He shrugs and leads me a little further away from the crowd, and stops in the middle of nowhere.

I pause behind him, and blankly look around, wondering what the meaning of this is.

"I am sorry for all you have been through" He apologises.

I absently look away, still not saying a thing. Why would a human care anyway?

For a second, just a mere second, I thought I could get the best of both, but that would be breaking the rules. It was just an illusion.

So many rules to break, but nothing to gain in return.

_{There will be a short Epilogue after this, I shall post soon}_


	10. Epilogue

The next few rotations go by slowly, though I barely remember much of it. I think I went mute, seeing no reason to talk and not feeling like doing so, I sealed my lip for quite a while.

On the bright side, even though I can barely see one anymore; my new Master is not at all pushy, or abusive. Something like Belle.

He summons me regularly, but sends me back immediately if he believes I don't want to be there. He has never laid a finger on me, and doesn't expect anything from me, which makes me feel bad, but I don't have the will to change this.

Eventually, Master manages to strike up some conversation with me; a pressing question compels me to finally speak.

"You look familiar… It bugs me… Should I know you?" I ask quietly.

"Yes. I was a friend of Belle's" He replies simply.

"Oh, right…" I slowly begin to remember his face a little better; I think I have seen him at least three times prior to these arrangements.

The full extent of the sentence reaches me slowly, unravelling in my muddled brain, and I question again, "What do you mean… _was_?"

Master sighs deeply and seems to shuffle about uncomfortably, I allow my gaze to meet his for a moment, and his eyes are watery.

I get the awful feeling that I shouldn't have asked that question, more bad news was coming my way. One would think I was used to it by now.

"Belle… Is dead." His voice is soft, but the words are harsh, like another plate to the face.

A sharp inhale causes me to choke, and I stare blankly at him for a moment, waiting for him to say, "Gotcha!" or, "You fell for it!"… But, as much as I want it to, it never comes. He just continues to stare right back at me, with firm eyes and no hint of amusement across his features.

"The man whom got your key, he murdered her"

I shake my head, dreaming am I? No, this is a _nightmare._

I know that life isn't fair, I know that I can never be truly happy, but this? This is over line.

This is too tragic, too cruel; it can't really happen can it?

Not to someone like Belle, she is too kind.

Suddenly, my eyes begin to ache, and my vision becomes blurred. What's happening now?

Small droplets of water form at the edges of my eyelids.

This must be what they call; "crying".

Tears spill and flow over my cheeks, I choke pathetically.

But what's the point in fighting anything anymore?

Nothing. I have nothing to gain in return for that effort.

Master leaves me in the Celestial World for at least a full rotation, but this makes things worse. I need things to distract me, not time to mourn!

Of course, for the first few sections of a rotation, I can't accept it.

But, by the end of the first rotation, I have become immensely frustrated.

If I had known that Master had gone and murdered dear Belle…

Well let's just say he most definitely _would not_ be walking right now, or maybe even _breathing_ for all I care.

No matter how many rules I am bound to follow, nothing will come in between myself and making sure scores are settled.

But, I have no idea where he is now; there is no way for me to avenge Belle.

This prospect only fuels my anger, knowing that I have once again lost to that cruel yet cunning power player. _Why can't I win for once?_

I know exactly why.

I am bound to follow orders, I am bound to follow rules, magic and rules bound me to do one thing in life.

_Follow the rules that others make._

Unfortunately, there is no way to rise against the one who makes the rules, because they shall bend them to their advantage.

Half a full rotation and I finally accept that Belle is gone for good, and there is absolutely not a thing I can do about it.

Master later tells me that the murder was investigated, and the man was sentenced to jail.

"He deserves the death penalty, and I would be all too happy to abide" is my bitter response.

"You just learn to forgive, Lencya" He replies softly.

"The loss of a life is un-forgivable, especially when there is no justice behind the reason"

"It doesn't have to be un-forgivable"

"But it does. Because those left behind suffer the pain of the death many times over"

"Maybe, but that wound can be healed"

"The only thing that will remotely seal that wound is tasting vengeance, correcting injustice, knowing that you have done everything you can to avenge that death"

"Revenge can never result in true peace"

"Justice is revenge"

Finally Master seems to just leave it be, he puts a single hand on my shoulder and simply states, "Well, before you walk down that path, dig two graves" and he leaves the room.

_One would belong to the murderer._

_And the other would be mine._

This doesn't faze me much. Because I know that if I ever decided to take revenge, then the remainder of my existence would be no better than it is now.

I know avenging Belle is not the answer, and I had known for a while, but…  
After the denial had passed, I had been left with a ruthless thirst for a sweet thing I only know as revenge.

I suppose only time will help that thirst to weaken, though I know it will always linger.

Other emotions may help that burning thirst to ease too, but just like other liquids, only water can truly cause one's thirst to cease, just as revenge can only seal that wound.

That small part of my original personality that was left cried out; there were unsettled scores to be tended to, I still wanted to win, and I knew that revenge would mean my victory.

Master explains a few days later that after the murder was investigated, the Celestial spirit market was uncovered, and the whole thing was blown apart.

This helps to ease my thirst too, though I am still far from winning, as the murderer is still alive. He took a life, destroyed many others, and still got away with his.

_Do humans have no limits?_

{There you have it, I hope you enjoyed the Epilogue. If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to leave a review or PM me. Thanks}


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